O.C. Sewer Plant Fined Over Sludge

A Dana Point sewage plant was fined $72,000 Friday for failing to treat sludge properly before sending it to Riverside County farms, where it was used as fertilizer.

The South East Regional Reclamation Authority, now part of the South Orange County Wastewater Authority, agreed to pay the fine to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violating the Clean Water Act, said Tom Rosales, director of technical services at the wastewater authority. He referred further questions to the wastewater authority’s general manager, who was unavailable Friday.

The coal-black sludge, called biosolids, is the solid material in sewage. It is supposed to be treated for 15 days before it is clean enough to be Class B sludge, which can be used as fertilizer on nonfood crops such as alfalfa and cotton. A routine EPA inspection found that between January 1999 and April 2000, the sludge at the Dana Point plant was treated a maximum of 11 days.

“They did not sufficiently treat their sludge to reduce bacteria, viruses and other pathogens,” said EPA spokeswoman Lisa Fasano.

Lauren Fondahl, the EPA environmental engineer who discovered the problem, said there is concern it could pose a health threat to people and animals who came in contact with the sludge.

Once the violations were discovered, the sewage agency began sending its sludge to a composting facility, EPA officials said.